Trump told Good Morning Britain on Wednesday that they discussed climate change during the 90-minute meeting in which Prince Charles “did most of the talking.” Climate change is an issue that Prince Charles has been vocal about.

“What he really wants and what he really feels warmly about is the future,” Trump said of Prince Charles. “He wants to make sure future generations have climate that is good climate, as opposed to a disaster, and I agree. I did mentioned a couple of things. I did say, ‘Well, the United States right now has among the cleanest climates there are, based on all statistics.’ And it’s even getting better because I agree with that. I want the best water, the cleanest water —crystal clean, crystal clean air.”

Recent reports have shown that while the 1970 Clean Air Act and the Obama-era Clean Power Plan have improved air quality and saved lives in the United States, progress has stalled amid the Trump Administration’s rollback of environmental regulations. More than 141 million Americans lived in areas with unhealthy air pollution levels in 2015 to 2017 — an increase over the previous two years, as ozone pollution worsened across much of the country, according to the 2019 State of the Air report.

Trump also faulted other countries for their role in air and water pollution. “China, India, Russia, many other nations, they have not very good air, not very good water in the sense of pollution and cleanliness,” Trump said. “They don’t do the responsibility.”

During the interview with Good Morning Britain, Trump also denied climate science that shows the environmental crisis is worsening, but said he was “moved” by Prince Charles’ passion. More than 143 million people could be displaced by climate change by 2050, the World Bank concluded in a 2018 report. A landmark United Nations report published last year determined the planet could see the worst effects of climate change as early as 2030 if global warming continues at its current rate.

“I believe that there’s a change in weather, and I think it changes both ways. Don’t forget, it used to be called global warming. That wasn’t working. Then it was called climate change. Now it’s actually called extreme weather — because with extreme weather, you can’t miss,” Trump said on the morning show.

“I think we had a great conversation, and it was about — as you would call it — climate change,” Trump said of his meeting with Prince Charles. “I’ll tell you what moved me is his passion for future generations. He’s really not doing this for him. He’s doing this for future generations. And this is real. He believes that.”

Correction, June 6The original version of this story misstated the status of American involvement in the Paris climate accord. The Trump Administration has begun the process of withdrawal from the Paris accord, but the U.S. has not yet fully withdrawn from the accord.

Thank you!

For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder.